GAME NOTES: The North Carolina Tar Heels will conclude the regular season on
Saturday afternoon against ACC foe Maryland at Kenan Stadium.

This marks the first meeting between these two schools since 2008. UNC leads
the all-time series, 35-33-1, but it remains to be seen how often these
longtime rivals will face each other down the road. On Monday, Maryland's
board of regents voted to accept an invitation to join the Big Ten Conference
beginning in 2014-15.

Maryland enters Saturday's contest looking to snap a brutal five-game losing
streak. The first two losses during that stretch were by a combined five
points, but the Terrapins have been beaten by an average of nearly four
touchdowns over their last three outings. They are coming off a 41-14 setback
to 10th-ranked Florida State this past weekend.

Meanwhile, North Carolina is coming off a 37-13 victory at Virginia last
Thursday night. A win here would improve the Tar Heels to 8-4 and mark their
best winning percentage in a season since the 1997 squad went 11-1. UNC has
gone 5-1 at home this season and a win over Maryland would mark the first time
since Kenan Stadium was built in 1927 that the team has won 12 home games over
a two-year stretch.

Maryland is playing with a converted linebacker at quarterback, although the
offense has struggled to put points on the board for much of the season. The
Terps have failed to score more than 20 points in any of their past five
games. They enter this weekend's tilt ranked dead-last out of 120 Football
Bowl Subdivision schools in total offense (273.9 ypg) and 112th in scoring
offense (18.5 ppg). Season-ending injuries to four quarterbacks have thrust
true freshman linebacker Shawn Petty into an emergency role under center.
Petty made his third straight start against FSU, completing 8-of-19 passes for
136 yards and two touchdowns against the Seminoles' top-ranked defense. Both
of those TDs went to Kevin Dorsey, who finished with 75 yards on two catches.

Maryland gave up two touchdowns in a span of 12 seconds in the first quarter
against FSU, and that was all the cushion the Seminoles needed. After the
visitors marched down the field for a touchdown on their opening drive, Terps'
return man Levern Jacobs fumbled the ensuing kickoff, leading to FSU's second
TD. The Seminoles inflicted most of their damage on the ground, gashing
Maryland's defense for 237 rushing yards and a team average of 5.8 yards per
tote. The Terps allowed FSU to convert 7-of-13 third downs for the game and
score on all four of its trips inside the red zone, including three
touchdowns. L.A. Goree led the way with a game-high 13 tackles in the loss,
while Kenneth Tate notched three sacks.

UNC has been awfully tough to beat at home, as the offense is averaging a
robust 49.3 points per game at Kenan Stadium. The Tar Heels are on pace to
shatter their single-season school record of 441.8 yards per game, set back in
1983 as they are currently averaging 484.2 yards to rank 17th in the nation.
It all starts with running back Giovani Bernard, the ACC's leading rusher with
118.3 ypg on the ground. Despite missing two games, Bernard has an ACC-best 18
touchdowns on the season and is within three of tying Don McCauley's single-
season record of 21, set in 1970. Bernard is the first Tar Heel to notch
consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Natrone Means in 1991. In the
passing game, quarterback Bryn Renner has tossed 23 TD passes and is three shy
of matching his school record that he set last year. Renner is the only player
in school history with 20-plus TD passes in multiple seasons.

After getting torched for 68 points against Georgia Tech in its previous
outing, the UNC defense allowed just 13 points at Virginia last week. On two
occasions, the Cavaliers ventured inside the red zone and came away with no
points. The Tar Heels defense held UVA to 2-of-15 on third down and 3-of-6 on
fourth down. Tre Boston led the charge with 13 tackles, and he also scored on
a 36-yard interception return in the second quarter to spot the Tar Heels a
10-point lead going into the half. All told, UNC amassed 10 tackles behind the
line of scrimmage for the game. The team enters the weekend ranked fourth in
the country in tackles for losses with 8.1 per game. Defensive end Kareem
Martin (15.5) and linebacker Kevin Reddick (15.5) lead the team in that
department, followed by defensive tackle Sylvester Williams with 12.5. The Tar
Heels also lead the ACC with 15 interceptions.

These two teams have seen their seasons head in very different directions. The
Terps have endured some tough circumstances at the most critical offensive
position, which has really taken the wind out of their sails. Although UNC and
Maryland have had some tight battles over the years, look for UNC to cruise in
this one.